Card index system



M. HOFFMANN CARD INDEX SYSTEM Sept. 19, 1939.

Filed Jan. 23, 1937 Patented Sept. 1 9, 1939 UNITED STATES cam) mm- Max Hoifmann, Ohemnitz, Germany In Germany January 23, 1936 Application January 23, 1937, Serial No. 122,079-

This invention relates to a car index system for stock control.

In theknown card index systems showingthe stock of goods on handentries on the cards are 5 made only after the various papers for shipping,

posting, etc. of the merchandise. taken from stock have been completed. In case of complex stock records covering for instance hosiery, gloves, knit goods in general, etc. proper keeping of stock records is thus delayed with the result that the cards are, as a rule, not up to date and fail to give a clear idea of the supplies actually available. 7

- It has been proposed to employ for. stock 1 records a set of manifolding cards or sheets, comprising a foundation card and a number of superposed cards orsheetssubdivided into single forms by means of rows of transverse perforations. and

displacedrelative to one another with respect to their lettering and width of entry lines, and to arrange the foundation card below the divided sheets whilst the lines of the individual forms are placed at the upper edge thereof. The first forms of the superposed sheets orcards are then.

filled out first, then the following ones, etc.,

whereupon they are separated, so that the entry line of the form to be filled out is directly positioned on a sheet of carbon paper inserted between the sheets or cards and the foundation card. a

Although this known system causes the entry made at the upper edge ofthe line to be filled.-

out simultaneously to appear-on the foundation card which thus records every change in stock, the joint arrangement of the foundation card and of the separate sheets or cards connected therewith in the form of a pad or block is' difficult, as each sheet followinga preceding one must be shortened at its head to the extent of 40 the width of the line servingfor direct posting.

on the foundation card. Furthermore, .for the same reason, the amount of space available on the sheets following the first one continually gets smaller, so that for instance regularly recurring 4 5 columns of equal size cannot be provided or, if provided, cannot carry the same amount of.-

entries as their predecessors or the first sheet.

Record cards of this type are therefore unsuited for making entries of equal size on each sheet to ,0 be separated from a block.

The object of the present invention is to solve the above stated problem with blocks of the above mentioned type. The solution of said problem comprises a block composed of a foundation card 55 and of a plurality of equally large and in- 2 Claims. (01. za z-zv) dividually detachable sheets which overlap one another inscale-likesuccession parallel with respect to the upright direction of said foundation card and are each carbonized on the back at the upper rim to a certain extent. It will be obvious '5 that 9. thus composed block does not onlypermit to note down easily, quickly and reliably every change of the quantity of any merchandise on stock on the individual sheets pertaining to the respective merchandise just to be dealt with, but 10.

also to. disclose on the foundation card without any computation the remaining quantity of therespective merchandise.

By way of example, the inventionis illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 15 is a side view of the card index system proposed; Fig. 2 a front view thereof and Fig. 3, amodification of the system shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring to the drawing, on the front side of a foundation card I provided with columns as re- 20 quired for a specific purpose ten sheets 2 having the same length, lettering'and color are so arranged that the upper edge portion 2' thereof cannot be covered by any part of one of the sheets following a preceding sheet, i. e., the ten 25 sheets 2 are arranged on the card I like scales. The ten sheets 2 preferably have a color totally differing from that of the card I and are perforated at their left hand edge 2" at 4 to'facili- 'tate removal. The upper marginal portions 2'80 of the sheets 2 have carbonized backs for copying entries made thereon on the underlying portion of the card I. This is effected also if one or more sheets 3 coinciding in position and size with the,

sheet 2 yet differing therefrom in color are 'de- 35 tachably disposed under each sheet When an entry has been made on the first one of the ten sheets 2 and on its sheet or sheets 3, this entry appears also on the card I. Further entries,'however, made on the sheet 2 provided 40 with, or lacking, underlying sheets 3, are not shown on the card I, since they are effected on portions of the sheet 2 possessing no manifolding means. If a sheet 2 provided. with a sheet 8 or a plurality thereof is to-carry an entry outside the marginal top portion 2', this entry can appear on the sheet 3 also by placing 'a carbon paper between the sheets 2 and 3. I When the top sheetl with its sheet 3 has been provided with the desired entries, the sheet 2 as well as the. sheet 2, which may for instance be 8. delivery-note, is separated from the card I and then used for its specific purpose. The visible area of the card I is thus enlarged up to the top edge of the next sheet 2, so that the card I clearly as indicates a reduction in stock. Each additional reduction increases the visible surface of the card Whereas in the card system hitherto described 1 each sheet 2 following a preceding one is displaced relative to the latter, it is further possible, as indicated in Fig. 3, to have it partly covered by the upper portion 2' of the preceding 7 sheet. Such an arrangement affords the advantage that a sheet 2 following a preceding one will show an entry made on the upper portion of the preceding sheet without preventing simultaneous recording of the entry on the card I. In this way, errors still possible in the first system due to the necessity of specially transferring a change in stock from one sheet 2 to another one are excluded, as no transfer is needed.

I claim:

1. A block to be written upon chiefly manually and adapted for the quick and easy disclosure of the movements and the quantity of a merchandise on stock at the time being, comprising, in combination, a horizontally ruled foundation card and a plurality of equally larg'e, individually detachable sheets overlapping one another in scale-like succession parallel with respect to the upright direction of said foundation card by as much as corresponds with the breadth of two lines, each sheet being carbonized at the upper rim of its back and the breadth of the carbonized portion corresponding with the breadth of three successive lines at the .upper rim of the front of the respective sheet.

2. A block to be written upon chiefly manually and adapted for the quick and easy disclosure of the movements and the quantity of a merchandise on stock at the time being, comprising, in combination, a horizontally ruled foundation card and a plurality of equally large and individually detachable sheetsoverlap'ping one another in scale-like succession parallel with respect to the upright direction of said foundation card and being likewise ruled in correspondence with said card, each sheet being carbonized at the upper rim of its back, the breadth of the carbonized portion corresponding with the breadth of three successive lines at the upper rim of the front of the respective sheet, the extent of the displacement of the sheets in their scale-like succession being suchv that the matter written upon the first and second line of a sheet is copied on the foundation card and the matter written upon the third line of the same sheet is copied on the next following shifted sheet, substantially as set forth.

MAX HOFFMAN'N. 

